


Early Isolation

by La_Marquise



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 07:51:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5959438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/La_Marquise/pseuds/La_Marquise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It must be very confusing for a five year old to be flagged as a latent criminal.  For Kagari, the confusion never quite went away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early Isolation

**Author's Note:**

> Posting here from my tumblr. Enjoy!

Kagari remembered very little of his early childhood. Whenever he’d cast his mind back to those early days he’d only recall hazy faces and nondistinct voices, maybe a name or two. Sometimes, if he focused extra hard, he liked to imagine that he could remember the smell of the laundry detergent his mother used, or the taste of birthday cake.

Though his childhood memories were generally foggy at best, Kagari could still recall with vivid clarity the events of what came to be known as That Day, the day he’d undergone the routine medical examination and psycho-pass screening that all five-year-olds were subjected to. The perfectly normal assessment that always went smoothly, without a single hitch, because what could possibly be wrong with a five-year-old?

***

Kagari had been playing in his room, lining up plastic dinosaurs in preparation for a dramatic showdown against an army of stormtroopers and farm animals when his parents had called him to get ready to go. He’d moved slowly, reluctant to leave the scene of an impending battle, but his parents had promised to stop for ice cream on the way home.

***

The medical center was cold and sterile, save for a few brightly colored posters and worn-out toys placed in the corner, a half-hearted attempt at making the facility “kid friendly.” There were a few other children there, and Kagari longed to join them on the floor amidst the clutter of toy cars and wooden blocks.

He was called back quickly though, too quickly to play, and he and his parents followed a kind-looking lady with a tablet into a private, even more sterile-looking room. They were joined by two others soon after, men in white coats also carrying tablets. One of the men knelt down to be at Kagari’s level and smiled.

“Hello there, Shuusei. ” He held out his hand, which Kagari, intrepid boy that he was, took without hesitation. The man smiled. “I’m Dr. Yamada, and my coworkers and I will be asking you some questions, okay?”

Kagari nodded happily, swinging his legs back and forth in his seat.

“Good.” The doctor’s eyes fell to Kagari’s t-shirt. “You like dinosaurs?”

“Yep!” Kagari exclaimed gleefully, proud that the doctor had noticed.

“That’s very interesting. My son loves dinosaurs as well.” Dr. Yamada’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled before standing back up.

The men in white coats asked a few questions, though most were directed at Kagari’s parents, and furiously entered data into their tablets. Kagari hadn’t paid very much attention, and by the time the people in the white coats left he’d grown quite bored.

“Can we get ice cream now?” he’d asked, tugging insistently at his mother’s sleeve.

“Not yet.” Her reply had been short, tense and snappy, and Kagari wondered whether he’d done something wrong.

The door opened a few minutes later, and Dr. Yamada, alone this time, came in. He was no longer smiling.

Kagari couldn’t remember what exactly had been said, then, only that his parents and the doctor exchanged a few hurried whispers before turning to look at him. His father had looked at him strangely, and his mother had burst into tears. Kagari, unable to understand what was going on, had started to cry too.

“There must be some mistake,” his father said, tone desperate, only to be rebuked by a shake of the doctor’s head.

Kagari didn’t hear anything else that was said, but finally his mother, gathering him up into a sweet-smelling hug, kissed him on the top of his head. “Shuu,” she’d murmured, holding him close, “let’s go.”

Eager to go home, and excited at the prospect of the ice cream he’d been promised earlier, he agreed.

***

They didn’t go home. Instead, they pulled up to an unfamiliar building, cold and grey. Before getting out of the car, Kagari’s mother had seized her husband’s hand and muttered something about just driving away.

Kagari’s father had shaken his head. “They’ve sent an escort after us. Hopeless.”

Kagari, not understanding, had chirped out “what’s an escort?” His question was ignored.

**

His parents said nothing as they led him inside. Kagari, restless and confused, looked around at the bare walls and spotless floors and decided that he didn’t like this new place very much.

Next thing he knew, his mother was kneeling down, holding him close and kissing his cheeks. “Shuu, you’re going to have to go with that nice lady there, see?” She jerked her head towards a woman in a tidy-looking outfit who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

“Why?”

“You need to be a good boy,” his father said with a stern glance.

“But-”

Kagari’s mother hugged him again. When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. “Be good.”

Before Kagari’s five-year-old mind could comprehend what was happening, he was being whisked away by the woman he’d seen only moments before, protesting that he wanted his parents, that he wanted to go home, that he was hungry. His protests fell upon deaf ears.

***

No matter how much time passed, Kagari swore that he would never forget his first night in the facility. His room was bare, the walls painted white, and he was alone. His room was dark, and when he cried out for his mother, nobody came. No one ever did.

***

The next day Kagari asked when his parents were coming to pick him up. He never got an answer, and he continued to ask whenever the opportunity presented itself. Each time his queries were met with stony silence or a sudden change of subject, and eventually he learned not to ask anymore.

***

Sometimes, Kagari would sit and wonder what he’d done to make his parents leave him. Unable to discern the true reason behind separation, young as he was, he’d concluded that he’d failed to clean his room too many times. To him it made sense; why else would he be placed in a room without any toys to leave out?

After coming to such a conclusion, Kagari would always promise himself that he’d be on his very best behavior, that he’d always be a good boy, just as his mother told him. He made these promises to himself each time, not realizing that it didn’t really matter how good he was. Not anymore.

***

As he grew older, Kagari wondered if his parents missed him. By the time he was fifteen their faces began to blur, and by the time he turned eighteen they’d faded into the haze of memory. He no longer remembered his father’s favorite food or the sound of his mother’s laugh, or the warmth of her hugs, although he wished he could.

Did they know how he was doing? Did they care? Had they had another child and merely replaced him? Kagari supposed he’d never know.

***

He’d never admit it, but sometimes, when he’d go out on missions with the rest of his Division, Kagari liked to look at the people around him in hopes he’d catch a glimpse of his parents. He knew that it was an empty hope; even if he defied the odds and ran into them they’d be much older and unrecognizable. They probably wouldn’t even recognize him, and even if they did, what would they do? What could they do? 

Kagari knew that it would be best for him to stop dwelling on the past, and to let it all go. The good, the bad, all of it. It should be easy to to let those memories, already clouded with time, fade into obscurity, and sometimes he almost did. However, on nights when he laid alone in bed, mind foggy with alcohol, he’d do his best to recall the happy times, desperately clinging to the memories, patchy as they were. After all, sometimes memories are all one has.


End file.
